Connector
A connector is a software element or mechanism that links components, applications, or resources to enable or represent their interaction, communication, or data exchange.
Kafka Streams in Action, Second Edition
A connector is a Kafka Connect component that coordinates tasks for moving data between Kafka and an external system.
- How it is used
- Integrates external systems with Kafka for inbound and outbound event streaming.
- How deep it goes
- Explains connector configuration and task assignment, while deferring portions of the complete custom implementation.
- Examples
- Uses JDBC-to-PostgreSQL configuration and a stock-ticker source connector that groups symbols across tasks.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via Kafka Connect by configuring an existing connector, or build it from scratch by extending SourceConnector and configuring tasks.
Read how Kafka Streams in Action, Second Edition explains connector →
Kafka for Architects
A connector is a configured Kafka Connect instance that defines a particular data pipeline between Kafka and an external system.
- How it is used
- Transfers data between Kafka and external systems through configured pipelines instead of custom producer and consumer applications.
- How deep it goes
- Defines plugins, connector direction, configuration, and replication approaches; stops short of a complete configuration walkthrough.
- Examples
- Illustrates database-to-Kafka replication, independent MS SQL and Amazon S3 sinks, and JDBC or Debezium source options.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure it by selecting an appropriate plugin, defining source or sink mappings, and accounting for propagation constraints.
Azure Security
A data connector is an integration component that collects data from a source and makes it available to a monitoring or analytics system.
- How it is used
- Ingests selected security telemetry into Microsoft Sentinel for detection, investigation, and incident response.
- How deep it goes
- Walks through portal-based Defender for Cloud configuration, incident creation, synchronization, and cost notes; defers custom connector construction to CCP resources.
- Examples
- Uses Microsoft Defender for Cloud alert ingestion and bidirectional incident synchronization with Sentinel.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure a Sentinel connector to ingest Defender for Cloud alerts and create incidents.
Apache Kafka in Action
A Kafka Connect connector is a component that transfers data between Kafka and an external system according to a configured connection definition.
- How it is used
- Moves data between Kafka topics and external systems without requiring custom producers and consumers.
- How deep it goes
- Works through JSON creation, status checks, task distribution, and lifecycle operations; notes limits of the file example.
- Examples
- Uses a FileStreamSource configuration that appends customer names to a file and checks their arrival in a topic.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure it through Kafka Connect’s REST API, including creation, status checks, updates, pauses, and restarts.
AI for Everyday IT
A connector is a software integration component that exposes access to an external service or data source for an application or workflow.
- How it is used
- Connects applications and services inside Teams workflows to automate workplace tasks.
- How deep it goes
- Defines prebuilt integrations and demonstrates browsing, validation, authorization, and configuration rather than writing integration code.
- Examples
- Uses an AI Builder email-sentiment flow that posts results to Teams and can monitor selected senders or folders.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure Teams workflows by selecting connectors, authorizing connections, and setting email and Teams destinations.
Quarkus in Action
A connector is a MicroProfile Reactive Messaging service-provider interface implementation that bridges a messaging channel to an external messaging provider.
- How it is used
- Bridges reactive messaging channels to remote brokers while preserving asynchronous application flows.
- How deep it goes
- Defines the SPI, provider abstraction, naming, and directional configuration, but stops short of connector implementation internals.
- Examples
- Uses Kafka, RabbitMQ, JMS, in-memory channels, and a Billing service communicating with Reservation and Rental services.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure Quarkus messaging channels against external brokers without rewriting reactive messaging code.
Data Analysis with LLMs
An integration component that enables a language model to access external data sources such as web search services or databases.
- How it is used
- Connects a language model to external data to ground responses and help readers verify their sources.
- How deep it goes
- Explains interface toggles, Python connector lists, and returned sources, but not connector internals.
- Examples
- Uses web search for factual questions and a Python example asking where Steve Jobs was born.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via Cohere’s interface or Python chat call, then inspect retrieved sources to check an answer.
Related concepts
- source connectorincludes · A source connector is a Kafka Connect connector that reads data from an external source system and publishes records to Kafka.
- Kafka Connectused by · Kafka Connect is a framework for reliably transferring data between Apache Kafka and external systems through configurable source and sink connectors.
- sink connectorincludes · A sink connector is a Kafka Connect connector that reads records from Kafka and exports them to an external destination system.
- data sourceuses · A data source is an origin, system, repository, or process from which data is obtained for use or processing.
- Azure Logic Appsused by · Azure Logic Apps is Microsoft's managed cloud service for designing and running automated workflows that integrate applications, services, data, and events.
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